The present painting, and its pendant, TN20, derive probably from Berchem’s prints, rather than his original paintings. The composition shows a typical arrangement of cattle drinking in a recognisably Italianate setting. The structure in the background is the Temple of Hercules from the Forum Boarium in Rome. Nicolaes Berchem was the son of the still-life painter Pieter Claesz of Haarlem. It was from his father that he received his first lessons, and later also from the landscape artist Jan van Goyen. Berchem’s earliest paintings were landscapes executed in brown and yellow tints and emulated Van Goyen’s typically loose style. Berchem may have visited Italy in the 1650s, although this remains uncertain. Later, he developed a more colourful palette and ranks among the second generation of Italianists – Dutch painters who specialised in sun-drenched landscapes and scenes set in the Italian countryside.